Author John Grain revisits teenage life on Salt Spring Island during the 1960s: “Salt Spring Island was the hub, the focal point of the counterculture in Canada and I missed it.” Don’t miss out on this book. More than 1000 sold in the first six months of release. It’s an excellent read.

John Grain lived on Salt Spring Island in blissful ignorance through what was arguably the most turbulent decade in history: the 1960s.

Salt Spring became a microcosm of the California experience; it evolved into the Canadian equivalent of the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco and emerged as the trendy hub of Canadian counterculture. As a teenager, although John Grain was certainly aware of momentous world events, he was almost totally unaware of their impact. Mod ‘n Lavender: Salt Spring Island in the ’60s takes the reader on an emotional voyage through Gulf Island life during this most memorable era. With a liberal sprinkling of revealing quotes from the local newspaper – the Gulf Islands Driftwood, John Grain helps the reader experience the transition of Salt Spring Island from what some once called the ‘land that time forgot’ into the innovative, eclectic and close-knit paradise that Salt Spring has become today.

“In Mod ‘n Lavender, John Grain weaves his own experiences with historical sources such as the Driftwood newspaper to craft a charming, insightful and often-humorous portrait of Salt Spring Island in the 1960s. It reflects changing times not only in a small and quirky B.C. community but in the tumultuous wider world.” – Gail Sjuberg, Editor, Gulf Islands Driftwood.